1 July 1997
E & EO
Thank you very much Mr Johnson, to Mr Fujioka and Mr Recchia, Ambassador, Consul-General, ladies and gentleman.
It's a very pleasant opportunity for me to be associated with this great export achievement of Mitsubishi Australia. The announcement made by Mike Quinn, the Managing Director of the company in Australia today to the effect that the production run is going to be increased to 280 and then to over 300, which will result in the generation of 100 additional jobs for the motor manufacturing industry in Australia, the acknowledgment by Mr Quinn in his announcement that the decision taken by my government in relation to the motor vehicle industry a few weeks ago has stabilised and improved the investment climate in Australia.
And the performance of Australia's motor vehicle industry is very much about boosting exports as well as taking advantage of the domestic base and the fact that we can sell such a vehicle at the luxury end of the market, to sell it successfully, to secure the sort of contract that has been secured for the Diamante here in New York and to acknowledge the contribution that Australian industry is making to that is a matter of very great pleasure to me as Prime Minister, it's a matter of congratulations to the people of Mitsubishi Australia and may I also say it's a source of very important symbolism that we have this little event here in New York, within view of the Statue of Liberty and the Staten Island ferry, the knowledge that we've secured a very valuable order in the United States and we have the representatives of one of the great Japanese investors in Australia with us and the triangular association between Japan, Australia and the United States, which is very much an expression of the reality of the modern Asia-Pacific association, and very much an expression of the relationship that Australia holds very dear in the Asia-Pacific area.
I would like to thank you Mr Fujioka for being here, I thank your parent company for its continued investment within Australia, it's been a very valued association and one that has generated a lot of jobs and is now generating more jobs and attracted a great deal of investment to our country, so I am delighted to be associated with this event.
I thank the Austrade director, Mr Johnson, for organising it, I thank your company Mr Recchia, for its great contribution and I wish all of those involved in the process enormous success and particularly it's a matter of great pleasure to me that there has been as a result of this, two way trade, there has been the generation of additional Australian jobs and that is always a matter of great pleasure and great satisfaction.
Thank you